Deer gun season nearing; hunter safety courses available

November 3, 2011

DAN THE MAN â€” Dan Carter, right, fixes up some good lunch on a deer hunt which he, Caleb Bailey, Russell Broussard (at left). Koby Midgley and Outdoor Columnist George Midgley were on last weekend.
Photo by George Midgley

The long awaited deer gun season is fast approaching. If you havenâ€™t taken your hunter safety course, you donâ€™t need to waste any more time getting it done! I checked the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservationâ€™s Website and found these dates and locations: Wister School Cafeteria, Saturday; Broken Bow Middle School Cafeteria, Nov. 12; Sallisaw High School Cafeteria, Nov. 12. For contact names and numbers, go to www.wildlifedepartment.com/education/courses.htm.
Also, Bokoshe Public Schools instructor Chad Ritter will also offer a hunter education course from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Bokoshe High School cafeteria. For more information about Ritter's sessions, call him at (918) 969-2341.
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Last weekend, my neighbor, Dan Carter, and one of my students, Caleb Bailey, joined Koby and me for a couple of days of hunting.
On Saturday, I missed a yearling and ran a coyote over Caleb. He thought the thing was going to run right up in his lap, but it turned at the last second a mere five yards from him.
On Sunday, the four of us were joined by Russell Broussard for an all-day hunt. Caleb had a doe run by his ladder stand at a dead run, and I jumped two deer that ran about five yards from my buggy and 20 yards from Koby. The problem was the buggy was between Koby and the deer, so he did not get a shot.
Around noon Sunday, we gathered up at the buggy for lunch. Dan cooked up some MREs to fuel us up for the evening hunt. Those things come in handy (and taste pretty good, too) when you want something more than the sandwich youâ€™ve been hauling around in your backpack for several hours. Time in the woods with friends and family can be just as much fun as the actual hunting itself.
After lunch, Dan and I went into an area I have not hunted this year, and I had a yearling come out at 6:40 p.m. I have not put a tag on a deer yet this year, so I was anxious for the shot. It was a little high and the deer ran off down the hill, and laid down â€” although I did not know that.
While blood trailing it, it jumped up, but it was too dark to shoot it again. So, I decided to wait until Dan got there to help me. On his way there, he was shining his light and thought he spotted an eye, but decided it was something else.
A few steps later revealed the eye Dan had seen previously as the deer jumped and ran off for the second time. At this point, we decided to give it at least 30 minutes before taking up the trail again.
When we started the search again, we could not find a deer, and the blood trail disappeared, also.
And another one gets away.
The next two weeks should be great, and I will be in the woods every time I have the chance. This Saturday, we are going with Dan down to Billy Creek to do a little bow hunting, and, hopefully, we will get to fling some arrows.